The present invention generally relates to power edgers and more particularly to a housing assembly for housing the blade member of a power edger.
Powered edgers having a rotary blade for performing an edging operation require routine maintenance in that the rotating blade is subject to wear and must be periodically sharpened or replaced. Furthermore, debris, such as grass and dirt, tend to accumulate on the guard around the blade and must be removed in order to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the edger device.
Typical housing assemblies for rotary edgers include a screw-attached guard plate that must be removed from a housing in order to gain access to the blade or to remove accumulated debris. In addition to being inconvenient, these conventional housing assemblies frequently do not thoroughly seal against the housing such that dirt and debris have been known to infiltrate in an undesired manner around the guard plate.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved housing assembly for a power edger. The improved housing assembly is preferably highly resistant to the infiltration of debris around an access door and includes a guard that is more resistant to the accumulation of debris.
In one preferred form, the present invention provides a power edger having a power source for providing a rotational output, a blade device coupled to the power source and rotating about a rotary axis in a rotational direction in response to the rotational output of the power source, and a housing assembly configured to shroud the blade device. The housing assembly includes a housing and a door. The housing is coupled to the power source and has a wall member, a first labyrinth member, and a guard. The wall member defines a blade cavity in which the blade device is rotatably mounted. The guard is configured to shroud the blade device and includes a confronting portion that at least partially surrounds the blade device as it rotates in the blade cavity. The confronting portion being defined by a radius that increases smoothly in the rotational direction from a first radius at a leading end of the confronting portion to a second, larger radius at a trailing end of the confronting portion. The first labyrinth member being coupled to the wall member and being disposed radially outwardly from the guard such that it extends around at least a portion of the blade cavity. The door is mounted to the housing and movable between an open position, which substantially clears the blade cavity, and a closed position, which closes a portion of the blade cavity. The door has a second labyrinth member that engages the first labyrinth member to form a labyrinth seal when the door is placed in the closed position.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.